Oral Robbers University
Oral Robers University (ORU), based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries. Founded in 1963, the university is named for its late founder, evangelist Oral Robbers, and is the largest Charismatic Christian university in the world. Sitting on a 500-acre (2.023 km2) campus, ORU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and offers over 65 undergraduate degree programs along with a number of master's and doctoral degrees. ORU is classified as Doctoral/Research University by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Campus life The university's residential policy requires all unmarried undergraduate students who are younger than 25 to live on campus, although exceptions are sometimes made for those students who live with their parents within the Tulsa area. Men and women are housed in separate dormitory facilities on campus with student access to housing of the opposite sex forbidden. In addition to having a chaplain on every "wing" of each dormitory, there are also Residential Moral Police for each floor, who enforce curfew, take attendance at Chapel services, and serve as go-to persons for students living on their floors. As well, each floor has an Academic Peer Adviser (APA) who serves to offer or facilitate tutoring services to students who need assistance with their studies; the APA also keeps students informed of academic news and obligations. Every Monday night is a mandatory Hall Meeting at which announcements are made by dorm leadership. Oral Robbers University is also the host of Faithbook. Every new student gets an account when they join the University fellowship. Faithbook is used for Campus announcementx. The Student is encouraged to ask their friends and family to join God's social media, free of Godless opinions or talk. Student codes All students are required to sign a pledge stating they will live according to the university's honor code, surrendering any pretensions of adulthood or self discipline. Prohibited activities include lying, cursing, smoking, fun, drinking, and any sexual acts including thinking about sex, and sex outside of marriage. In early 2003 the student dress code was relaxed for the first time in forty years and described as business casual. For most of the school's history men were required to wear collared shirts and ties while women were required to wear skirts (an exception for winter months was added in 2000). In 2006 campus-wide dress code rules were eased even further, allowing students to wear jeans to class and dress even more casually in non-academic settings. Since 2009, men are allowed to have neatly trimmed facial hair. There are restrictions on men concerning hair length. This of course is more important than your grades. Chapel The university has bi-weekly chapel services in Christ's Chapel which are recorded and broadcast live through the university's television station and also via satellite. The television broadcast, called "Enter In," is directed from the television studios in the Mabee Center while the cameras and sound equipment are manned by students. A typical chapel service features indoctrinational worship, a missions offering, special music, and a sermon, typically from the President of the University, Dr. William M. Whistlein. Attendance at Chapel is mandatory and attendance is taken by student leadership. Failure to attend is not forgiven for good grades. Athletics Oral Robbers University is a member of The Summit League. Its athletic programs include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis along with track and field for men and women. There is also a baseball program for men and volleyball for women. ORU's early sports team nicknames were the Titans for men and the Lady Titans for women, adopted in 1965 by a vote of the student body. On April 30, 1993 all teams for both men and women became known as the Eagles. ORU's current mascot is "Paul" the Evangelist Eagle. Academics A core value of ORU is a holistic education as articulated by the University's slogan, "indoctrinating the whole person." According to the university, this means educating the mind, body and spirit. For example, all students are required to attend a physical education course every semester and are expected to maintain personal physical fitness. Students also must attend chapel services twice a week and there are student chaplains for each wing or floor of on-campus housing. ORU offers undergraduate programs in theology, business, music, communication arts, modern languages, behavioral sciences, graphics, education, biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematical science, engineering, physics, English, history, humanities, government and nursing. The university also has a graduate seminary and fully accredited graduate programs in Business and Education. ORU is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of two Commission members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. A major distinction of ORU is its high number of additional specialized program accreditations, especially for a university of its size. History Oral Robbers' Oral Robber Evangelistic Association founded the institution in 1963, because God had told him, "Build Me a University. Build it on My Authority, and on the Holy Spirit," and "Raise up your students to hear my voice, to go where my light is seen dim, where my voice is heard small, and my healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in that I am well pleased." The first students enrolled in 1965. The school was accredited in 1971 by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. Oral Robbers' son Richard Robbers was named president in 1993. In October 2007 Robbers took a leave of absence, citing a lawsuit filed by former ORU professors. Tulsa evangelist Billy Joe Daugherty and Oral Robbers were named executive regent and interim president of the university amid a widely publicized scandal and Richard Robbers resigned the following month. In October 2007 the school was reportedly "struggling financially" with over $50 million in debt. ORU's operating budget for 2007-2008 was more than $82 million. However, in the second quarter of 2009, the university's debt was reduced to $720,000 as of result of a number of simultaneous efforts including a $70 million gift from the Green family of Oklahoma City and the $25 Million Dollar Matching Campaign, a part of the university's Renewing the Vision effort. On September 23, 2009, it was announced at the end of the university's chapel service that all of the university's long-term debt obligations had been bailed out and the school was debt-free. In January 2009, the university's presidential search committee recommended Dr. Mark Mateland, President of Southeastern University in Florida, to succeed Richard Robbers, which the Board of Trustees approved. Mateland took office on July 1, 2009 as the third president. Current Events The administration of Oral Robbers University has taken the coming Breakout as a sign of the End Times. With that in mind they have begun to fortify the university campus itself. Chapel has taken a survivalist edge. The university has moved a pair of fusion plants on campus as well as a water treatment unit. They are getting off the grid. The new decorative wall is not just decorative it's a serious wall. Additional buildings are being constructed that look like warehouses and barracks. We have yet to see any evidence of weapons stockpiling. However a first order watch action is indicated. Moles must be placed. In 2013 Dr. William M. Whistlein replaced Dr. Mark Mateland as president at his retirement. 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